Very rude, stupid or lazy butcher encounter at Costco

Skiddymarker

Austin Egghead said:

DieselkW ..good one... if he every answers the window again I will ask him to cost out the Prime at Choice price.
@Mickey lunch is a go anytime and I am bummed out about AxX cards going away.

Good way to look at it, one bad apple perspective....

What is it with the AMX cards? Canada has dropped them, at the registers you have to use MC, while the Canadian web site takes either MC or VSA, in the US it is still AMX, but I understand it will be VSA only - I am so confused. Life is hard for a cross border shopper.....
BTW - how did the dinner turn out. 

Dave in Florida

I would have looked him in the eyes and said "I know exactly what I am wanting" and then asked "are you paying for it?"

st¡ke

Some things that are complicating the discussion:

I don't know if you were clear about asking for prime grade, but there are some comments in this thread which imply some folks don't know this: when you are asking for "Prime Rib", it doesn't mean you are asking for USDA grade "Prime" meat.  "Prime Rib" has no associated grade, and it's perfectly legal for them to sell select or choice rib roasts as "Prime Rib".  This is because the phrase Prime Rib predates the USDA grading system.  This complicates a lot of discussions when you are trying to be specific about meat.

Another issue that you were talking (likely) to a meat cutter, not a butcher, which is a very different thing. The guy you were talking to simply opens sub-primal cryovac'ed stuff and slices it into steaks.

What's very strange here though is that even though he told your there was no "Prime" prime rib, he pointed you to slices of USDA prime rib-eye which were cut in that store from a whole rib eye.

I'd have asked him if he simply had any of the whole rib eyes left from which he cut those steaks, and if you could have a chunk of one. The question is not whether you "need" prime or wether you can taste the difference.  They sell it anyway. and until he lopped it into steaks, he DID have USDA prime grade rib roasts.

a three pound hunk though is quite small (from a rib eye).  maybe a single bone, if taken from the larger end.  perhaps a two-bone roast if taken from the smaller end.  in the end, really just a very large steak anyway.

as we get more and more educated about what we are cooking, and what ingredients we want, we run into the same situation as being at Home Depot and asking the guy for something very specific, and all he can do is drag you from aisle to aisle.  you end up thinking "i know more about this than you do for crying out loud, just get out of my way"

BYS1981

Costco aims to have good customer service,  there is no doubt about it.

Personally, I work hard for my money and I can take my money to Sam's Club or another store just as easy. I would have talked to a manager, bad day or not. 

Spring Chicken

Scientifically speaking, he wasn't born with a 'rude' gene.  He had to develop rudeness along the way.  Perhaps he just achieved his rudeness limit and you happened to be handy to explore this newly found trait.

Or he may have been having a bad day and you walked up with a question that triggered a rude response.

On a good day, most butchers aren't always known for their people skills.  If they were, they would be paid more.  They are hired to cut and package meat, almost always 'as instructed by their supervisor,' not 'as they have been taught.'   Butchers are behind the counter day in and day out having to deal with every type of personality there is.  No two people are the same and some give new meaning to extremism, often asking for something that doesn't even exist or demanding the impossible, sometimes because they saw it on a Food Network show.   

In today's world, cuts of meat are determined by market demand.  Special cuts are rare because most folks don't know anything about special cuts.  They just buy what's available or looks good in the display case, co-mingled with the assumption that if it looks good, it is good, or if it's high-priced, it must be better.

My Dad was a butcher first and store owner second.  He could cut meat to look like a silver dollar or a copper penny if the customer wanted it.  He laughingly told a story about people usually having no idea what they wanted until they got to the store.  65 years later I think some of that still exists in all of us, especially at the butcher's counter.

And as we all know, butchers aren't always right when they tell you something. And 'how' they tell it isn't always polished.

I would just mark it down as him having a bad day and let it go at that.

Spring "Rudeness Is A Temporary Condition Brought On By External Influences" Chicken

Spring Texas USA

saluki2007

Jeepster47 said:

stlcharcoal said:

...

BTW, anyone have a GFS?  Just got one in STL, not a bad place.  They didn't have much beef, but the prices were close to RD.

We have one close by in Peoria (IL).  Since we have several good meat places, I've not checked out their meats nor prices.  They do have some great prices on accessories ... poly cutting boards, butcher paper, heavy duty aluminum pans, etc...

@Jeepster47 @stlcharcoal The meat selection leaves a lot to be desired but they have a good selection of premade frozen appetizers.  As Jeep said they do have a good selection/price on accessories.

RRP

saluki2007 said:

@Jeepster47 @stlcharcoal The meat selection leaves a lot to be desired but they have a good selection of premade frozen appetizers.  As Jeep said they do have a good selection/price on accessories.

Here's a little secret - try a tub of GFS "Tavern Cheese" spread. It is hard to stop eating. If you are familiar with the popular Ray's Patio Inn cheese in Peoria then you'll find a similarity between the two, but the Tavern Cheese isn't as heavy in garlic as Ray's.

fusionhq

I didnt read all the replies, but I've had the same experienece at Costco...I asked if they would cut a pack of steaks for me at 2", and I got a "NO", and sliding glass door.